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News and Developments 2005: Federal Death Penalty

SUPREME COURT Agrees to Hear Cases with Death Penalty Implications

Posted: November 08, 2005
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On November 7, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear cases in two areas that could have broad implications for many defendants facing the death penalty.  In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, No. 05-184, the Court will rule on the constitutionality of the military tribunals established by President Bush following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  A U.S. District Court had halted the military trial of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who had been captured in Afghanistan, because the trial violated domestic law and U.S. international treaty obligations.  This decision was overturned by the U.S.

Relatively Few Federal Death Sentences, But Proposed Legislation Would Make It Easier

Posted: November 01, 2005
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The Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project reported that only 5 of the 22 juries that heard federal capital cases imposed death sentences in the past  year.  During John Ashcroft's term as Attorney General from 2001 to 2005, 18 of the 63 juries in capital cases returned death sentences.  Some members of Congress have proposed easing the rules for obtaining death sentences in federal cases, allowing the government to seek the death penalty repeatedly if the jury is not unanimous for either a life or death sentence.  Under current law, a non-unanimous sentencing jury results in a sentenc

Patriot Act Reauthorization Could Impact Federal Death Penalty

Posted: October 26, 2005
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Several provisions contained within the U.S. House of Representatives version of legislation to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law aim to dramatically transform the federal death penalty system by allowing smaller juries to decide on executions and giving prosecutors the ability to try again if the jury deadlocks on sentencing. The legislative changes, sponsored by Texas Congressman John Carter, would also triple the number of terrorism-related crimes eligible for the death penalty.

RACE AND JURY SELECTION: Federal Judge Attempts to Seat a More Diverse Jury in Death Penalty Case

Posted: September 16, 2005
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A federal judge in Boston presiding over the death penalty case of two black defendants has ordered a change in the process of summoning jurors in order to ensure a more diverse jury.  U.S.

NEW VOICES: Victim's Family Opposes Federal Death Sentence

Posted: July 27, 2005
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The parents and three children of Louisiana murder victim Kim Groves have asked the federal government to forgo seeking the death penalty for co-defendants Paul Hardy and Len Davis.  In a letter to prosecutors, the Groves family urged U.S attorneys to halt proceedings that  might lead to death sentences in rehearings for both defendants.

Federal Death Penalty in Non-Death Penalty States

Posted: July 21, 2005
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The federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988 with a limited statute for murders in the course of a drug conspiracy. It was expanded to 60 offenses in 1994 and included crimes such as carjacking and drive-by shootings if a death results. During the Clinton administration, no one from a non-death penalty state was sentenced to death.

Puerto Ricans Again Reject Federal Death Sentence

Posted: May 03, 2005
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Two Puerto Rican defendants were given life sentences by the same jury that had convicted them of murder in the course of an armored truck robbery that occurred in 2002.  Puerto Rico has not used the death penalty for almost 80 years and forbids the practice in its constitution.  However, the U.S. federal death penalty applies to the Commonwealth.

Eric Rudolph Pleads Guilty to Terrorist Bombings in Exchange for Life Without Parole Sentences

Posted: April 15, 2005
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In separate plea agreements with the federal government and Georgia prosecutors, Eric Rudolph admitted killing two people and injuring 150 others by carrying out a series bombings at a gay nightclub, abortion clinics, and the 1996 Olympics, and will serve four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors spared Rudolph from execution in exchange for his guilty pleas and his revealing the location of about 250 pounds of dynamite he had hidden in the North Carolina mountains.

Opposition to the Death Penalty Mounts in Puerto Rico

Posted: March 31, 2005
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As two men convicted of capital murder under the federal death penalty statute await their sentencing on April 11, Puerto Rican Governor Anibal Acevedo and the Association of American Jurists, a non-governmental organization acting as a consultant at the United Nations, protested the use of the death penalty in Puerto Rico.